How Slow-Living Are You?

Stephanie O’Dea is author of Slow Living: Cultivating a Life of Purpose in a Hustle-Driven World. She is a “slow-living coach.” This made me laugh out loud. She must not be in the midst of a major move which entails constant decision-making hustle around packing/unpacking a myriad of stuff: Will this fit in my new home? If not, what do I do with it? Then, upon arrival, this will not fit! What do I do with it? However, I do know I am making move-hustle progress because my dreams no longer are about packing; last night I dreamt about vacation, an escape from the unpacking process.

O’Dea started her slow-living journey with “A Year of Slow Cooking.” She believes that cooking is a chore, not something that she wants to do, so she loves her crockpot. I gave away my crockpot. I enjoy cooking fresh food “from scratch,” but I might need some slow-living ideas when I finish unpacking boxes.

I found out that I could “join 10,000+ Students of Life” by subscribing to the “Sloww (not a typo!) Sunday newsletter.” Instead, I chose to hustle up on this phenomenon briefly online before jumping into another book for my overcrowded bookshelves. Here are some highlights of Slow Living and the Slow Movement:

• Organizational psychologist Geir Berthelsen created a think tank in 1999, The World Institute of Slowness, advocating that “…the best thinking comes from a walk in the slow lane…slowness is the forgotten dimension to time. Unlike chronological time, it is non-linear, time here and now, time that works for you, extraordinary time. So why be fast when you can be slow? Slowness is also about balance, so if you must hurry, then hurry slowly.” Is hurry slowly an oxymoron?
• Nearly two decades later, Canadian journalist Carl Honoré wrote a book titled In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed.
• Beyond slow living and slow food, today there is a slew (or stew) of slowness – slow money, slow parenting, slow education, slow reading, slow medicine, slow gardening, and slow religion. In 30 countries there are 236 cities that call themselves slow cities! Who knew?
• According to Slow Living 201 (I skipped the 101 version), there are 15 adjectives for slow living: paced, unbusy, balanced, intentional, connected, deep, purposeful, holistic, soulful, long-view, low-stress, eased, time-rich, conscious, and mindful. https://www.sloww.co/slow-living-201/

I completely agree that mindfulness is a practice well worth putting into your daily routine. I participate every morning in an online mindfulness group with 20 minutes of silent mindful reflection. I practice mindfulness at other times of the day too, especially when gardening or cooking. I find these slow-breath actions grounding — literally grounding when working with soil in my yard. But honestly, I use some hustle in other parts of my life. Do I need to read O’Dea’s Slow Living book?

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

411. Do you engage in slow living some part of your day?

412. What aspect of slow living might be beneficial for you?